Monday, July 16, 2012

An Excuse To Use Creativity

"It's the most wonderful time of the year." So goes the tune inside my head as I think about this time of year. No, I'm not talking about the "Christmas in July" sale happening at your local mattress store, but I'm talking about preparing for Fantasy Football Season.

I suppose I'd still be considered a newbie, but this is my fourth year playing fantasy football and I am hooked. My love of fantasy football even drove me to watch the actual NFL draft this year follow closely every move made in free agency. Today I rejoiced as Matt Forte and Ray Rice signed long-term contracts, because I had already drafted them in a couple of my early-draft leagues.

Part of the process of fantasy football is coming up with the right name. A lot of times a name will have something to do with current issues in NFL football or it will be a play on a certain players name. I like to add a bit of humor in with some of them myself.

So, all that to say, I want to share my 2012 team names with you. Ready? Here goes:

Hoomanawanui To You Too- not much of a back story on this one other than this particular Rams tight end has a crazy name that barely fits on his jersey.

The Bountiful Vilmas- you have to have lived under a rock to not hear about the bounty scandal with the New Orleans Saints this year. Jonathan Vilma is one of the players that has been suspended for the year because of his alleged involvement in the bounties.

1K4A Cart Off- this one is in regards to the above mentioned bounties where players were supposedly offered $1000 to hit someone hard enough that they would have to be carted off the field.

Scoblo Beefy Boyz- this is a result of me being lazy and not being creative with my name.

Scoblo Blackshirts- this name isn't too creative either, but it fits with the league. The league is a Nebraska Cornhusker league, so I wanted to rep the community and have the team name tie in with something Husker.

The Yellow Perils- here is another example of a league dictating the name. This team is in a Green Lantern league. The Green Lantern is a comic book character. I had to do a little research to get creative with this one. I researched villains of Green Lantern over the years and in different spans of the comic books existence and came up with this one.

The Harbaugh Backslaps- last year there was an incident between two coaches during an after game handshake. Jim Schwartz of the Detroit Lions and Jim Harbaugh of the San Francisco 49ers met in the middle of the field for the "good game" handshake and good ol' Harbaugh got a little zealous with his handshake and gave Schwartz a little shove. It turned into a little yelling match and if Schwartz would've had his way they would've thrown down right there.

APs Off-Duty PoPos- derived from Adrian Petersen's recent run-in with some off-duty officers moonlighting as security officers in a night club in Texas.

Tannehill? TannYerHyde!- is just a clever little play on words inspired by the 8th overall draft pick by Miami Ryan Tannehill.

Weeden Out The Bad McCoys- is another play on a couple names in a tricky situation. Brandon Weeden was the new QB drafted in the first round this year to come in and replace Colt McCoy who hasn't been doing a stellar job in leading the Cleveland Browns.

Manning's Last Nerve- is an homage to my favorite team, the Denver Broncos, and their acquiring of this season's hottest free agent, Peyton Manning. He had sat out last year with the Indie Colts because of neck surgeries and nerve damage that was not allowing him to have control over his arm like he needs to have. Here's to hoping that problem is solved and we'll see the Broncos in the Super Bowl this year.

The Wilfork TD Machines- is probably my favorite name this year. It is in honor of Vince Wilfork, a massive defensive lineman with the New England Patriots. The great thing about this 350 lb machine is that he had several interceptions last year, of which I can think of two, that he ran back for touch downs. It does my heart good to see a big man like this running for his life toward the end zone.

Scoblo Shank-O-Potamus- in another ode to laziness possibly. It was derived actually because I saw the logo first of the outline of a hippos head with a little knife and it said "Shank-O-Patamus" along the bottom. I instantly fell in love.

So, there you have it. A piece of my nerdery. This is part of why it is such a wonderful time of the year. I am waiting just a little impatiently for September when all the action of games start.

If you haven't tried fantasy football and are thinking about it, don't be afraid to plunge right in. It's cheap and easy and provides hours of entertainment. It also provides you with in depth understanding and studying of America's most-loved game.